Orioles Fall To Rays 5-2 In Doubleheader Opener
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Kevin Gausman will have plenty to think about after he heads back to the minor leagues.
Serving as the 26th man for the Orioles in a doubleheader against Tampa Bay, Gausman yielded five runs over five innings as Baltimore lost the opener 5-2 on Friday.
There really wasn't any mystery why Gausman's three-game winning streak ended. Beyond allowing seven hits, the right-hander walked four, threw a wild pitch and hit a batter. Barely half (50) of his 95 pitches were strikes.
"Obviously, four walks, that's putting a lot of guys on base," Gausman said. "I felt like a lot of them happened with two outs, and that's huge. Not only does it kind of get you out of whack, but it also gets your pitch count up."
Gausman didn't have a perfect inning and walked at least one in the second, third and fourth innings, during which the Rays turned a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 lead.
"His stuff was there. He couldn't really get into a rhythm with the command," Orioles catcher Caleb Joseph said. "Walks aren't really common for him. ... The guys he walked ended up scoring."
Gausman's immediate future is a trip back to Triple-A Norfolk, manager Buck Showalter said. Gausman has jockeyed between Norfolk and Baltimore for much of the season, a trend that will continue at least into July.
Gausman (3-2) was outdone by Rays rookie Alex Colome (1-0), who allowed only two singles over 5 2-3 innings to earn his first win in over a year.
Colome, like Gausman, was wild. The difference was that he didn't let that impact his performance.
Also serving as the 26th man, Colome walked four and threw two wild pitches. But he gave up only one run in his fourth big league start.
The 25-year-old hoped his performance would provide him the opportunity to get another chance to impress at the big league level.
"I'm very motivated to do the right things," Colome said through an interpreter. "I want to come up here and show that I belong here and I want to pitch here."
Colome certainly made an impression on Orioles star Adam Jones, who said, "He's got good stuff. He was throwing 92, 96, 97. We put some swings on some balls, but he was better than us today."
Jake McGee worked the ninth for his second save.
Brandon Guyer had three doubles, scored twice and drove in a run to help Tampa Bay improve to 2-7 against Baltimore this season. The Rays had lost 11 of their previous 13 games on the road.
Manny Machado homered for the Orioles, who finished with only three hits -- one after the second inning. Baltimore grounded into two double plays, making it 11 in five games.
"I think what's been troubling us the last five, six games has been the double-play ball," Jones said. "Those are the biggest rally killers."
Baltimore got a first-inning run when Nick Markakis singled and scored on a groundout by Chris Davis.
"When I got out of the inning," Colome said, "I felt like I was going to be OK."
In the Tampa Bay second, Guyer hit an RBI double and came home on a single by Matt Joyce.
A two-out RBI single by Jose Molina made it 3-1 in the fourth. The Rays used doubles by Guyer and Joyce, along with a single by Sean Rodriguez, to add two runs in the sixth.
Machado connected off Brad Boxberger in the seventh. Machado is awaiting word on his appeal of a five-game suspension from Major League Baseball for intentionally throwing his bat onto the field in a June 8 game against Oakland.
NOTES: This game was the makeup for an April 15 rainout. It drew a season-low crowd of 15,614. ... The Orioles put RHP Bud Norris (strained right groin) on the 15-day DL and recalled RHP Evan Meek from Norfolk. ... TB SS Yunel Escobar tested his sore right shoulder by playing catch but was not yet ready to return. He last played Tuesday. ... Tampa Bay was slated to start Jake Odorizzi in the second game, marking the second time in franchise history the Rays started two rookie pitchers in a doubleheader. ... Baltimore leads the majors with 36 HRs in June. ... Tampa Bay reached the midpoint of its season with a 33-48 record, worst since 2007.
(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
